Recruiting Report: Eli Cave (2016)
December 18th Update The Red Knights have faced a difficult schedule but they aren’t going to make excuses for their 4-4 record. They have solid wins over Rosemount, Waconia, and Kasson-Mantorville but losses to Cooper, Minneapolis South, Orono, and Edina.…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingDecember 18th Update
The Red Knights have faced a difficult schedule but they aren’t going to make excuses for their 4-4 record. They have solid wins over Rosemount, Waconia, and Kasson-Mantorville but losses to Cooper, Minneapolis South, Orono, and Edina.
So far the year has been up and down but with four home games amongst the next five contests the Red Knights have a chance to make a run.
“The season is going well, we have 4 tough losses,” said BSM leading scorer Eli Cave (scoring 15.2 points per game). “I think that we might be the best .500 teams out there.
“Our team has very balanced scoring, with four guys averaging double figures (also Sam Baker, Derek Drees, and Matt Lilienthal). I feel that I’ve played well, but not up to my capability yet. I am shooting 75 percent from the field, but I need to work on many other things.”
Cave has doubled his scoring average from his junior year (7.7 points per game) and he keeps showing that there is a good chance he will reach his high potential level.
“I’ve grown with confidence and also I’ve grown taller and stronger. Also, I can attack the basket better than before.”
The season is the most important thing to Cave but he’s also got a college basketball career to consider as well.
“I am not sure what I am doing next year, hoping that more division two’s will start to contact me. I am hearing from a strong few MIAC’s, NAIA’s and a select few division two programs.”
Schools watching Eli in the past include Hamline, St. Thomas, St. Johns, Augsburg, Minot State, and Minnesota-Duluth.
September 8th Update (RJ)
Last summer NHR watched Eli Cave compete with Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the summer and he was fine but nothing that really stuck out. Cave competed at the NHR Combine and you could see there was some potential with his length and agility but production seemed a ways off.
Last winter we saw him again in December and he played okay on his way to scoring between 7-8 a game for the 10 win BSM Knights but there wasn’t too much excitement about his game quite yet.
Then the spring hit. All of a sudden the light turned on. The confidence kicked in. Things started to come together. That is when Eli Cave made himself into a prospect.
The spring Eli Cave was running the floor and throwing down on opponents, he finished on the move after contact, he hit perimeter shots with feet set, and he became an active shot blocker/rim protector as well as a guy that moved his feet around screens.
“This (Grassroots) season helped with confidence and aggressiveness,” said Cave about his team with the Minnesota Select Altenhofen squad.
“Playing at a high level helped bring those things. I loved my (Grassroots) experience because it helped me with exposure/intensity and it helped me meet new coaches and players!”
Cave and Select Altenhofen 17U finished the year 36-13 which was about seven or eight more wins than we had expected. Cave was one of several Select players that competed hard and pushed beyond expectations.
So Eli Cave is now a prospect. What he has to do next is take what he did this spring and summer and apply that effort and production to his high school team.
“I’m feeling great about this year! We have all the pieces to be a great team. We need to stay in the weight room and we need to play as a team instead of individuals.”
Cave returns along with Sam Baker (15.2 points per), junior Derek Drees (scored 9-10 a game), Matt Lilienthal (8-9 a game), junior Will Whitmore, and sophomore Joe Dunn. That core of six should lead BSM to a much better season.
As for recruiting not much has changed. Eli has seen Hamline, St. Thomas, St. Johns, and Augsburg. He’s heard from several other MIAC and WIAC schools plus Minot State and Minnesota-Duluth.
“Not really anything new, just that I plan on taking a few more visits after soccer season and before basketball season,” said Cave.
Expect to hear more on Cave at the end of October and into November.
Update on 9/4/15 from Alex Conover
We’ve talked about Eli Cave’s increased skill, confidence and assertiveness all grassroots season. He’s now exploring his college options, having taken some recent visits.
“I’ve been on visits to SJU, UST, Hamline and Augsburg,” the Select/Benilde senior said. “I loved all of them! I’ve been talking to schools from the MIAC, NSIC, NAIA and WIAC.”
Eli also listed Minot State, UM-Duluth, UW-River Falls, UW-Eau Claire, Saint Mary’s and UW-Superior as some schools that have reached out.
“I’m looking for a good campus with good academics and a good relationship with my coaches and team,” Cave added. “It’s just the right feel. I would like to play D2 because a scholarship has been my goal for a while, but whatever fits best is what I will choose. The recruiting process has been fun, and I would like to thank all the coaches for taking time to recruit me.”
Eli feels that playing with Sam Baker as Select teammates helped build further chemistry that will spill over into the winter season for the Red Knights.
“We have a lot of young talent and good returning seniors, so we should be a fun team!”